Charles mettam



GHARLES METTAM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CONSTRUCTION OF IRON HOUSES.

Speccaton of Letters Patent No. 11,290, dated July 11, 1854.

To all whom t may concern.

Be it known that I, CHARLES METTAM, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invent-ed a new and useful Improvement in the Construction of Iron I-Iouses;`

and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in whichtion of a building constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2, is a transverse vertical section of the saine. Fig. 3, is a plan.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre-` sponding parts in the several figures.

This invention consists in erecting the `columns ofthe upper stories upon chairs, which can be adjusted easily to any desirable position on therbreast summers, and which when placed `directly over the columns of the story below to support columns immediately `above them, serve to connect the breast summers, in such a way as to provide for their longitudinal expansion` `and con-` traction.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation. j

A, A, A, represent the columns of the front of a lower story of a building; and` B, B, the breast summers resting upon'the columns in the usual way. j j I C, C, arethe chairs upon which the upper columns, A', A', A', are erected, which consist each of a broad flat plate, as large, or

`larger than the base of the column, with a perpendicular piece, a, of such form as to lit to the interior of the column, and another perpendicular piece, @fitting to the front or other part of the exterior of the column. The pieces, a, and b prevent the column moving upon the chair. The chairs are placed upon any part of the breast summers that may be desirable, and are secured theretopby bolts and nuts, c, c, for which slots 0l, ,are provided inthe chairs, so that the chairs may be adjusted sidewise, and so that when a chair rests upon the ends of the r e two breast summers-as it will when the Figure l, is a front elevation of a por-' columns of the upper tier are to be placed over the lower ones-the longitudinal eX- pansion, or contraction, of the summers may be allowed. Before proceeding to erect the columns, A', A', A', the chairs should severally be adjusted to the required condition, and may be secured before their respective columns are erected.

,'Ihis method of erecting the columns upon chairs, saves much labor, as the chairs may be adjusted exactly inthe required positions before the several columns are raised, and the columns may be set up in their place at once without any adjustment. Much labor is` thus saved, as the adjustment which is necessary to bring a heavy column to a desired position is dispensed with, and `the adjustment of a comparatively light chair only rendered necessary.

l/Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire `to secure by Letters Patent, is

CHAS'. METTAM.

Witnesses:

JNO. W. HAMILTON, I. W. COOMB. 

